


Liquid Courage

by xrabbitxheartx



Category: Andromeda Six (Visual Novel)
Genre: Dirty Dancing, Drunken Shenanigans, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-18
Updated: 2020-07-18
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:27:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25355485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xrabbitxheartx/pseuds/xrabbitxheartx
Summary: Eve has a little too much to drink while at a bar with Damon.
Relationships: Damon Reznor & Traveler
Kudos: 43





	Liquid Courage

**Author's Note:**

> Traveler is Eve Peg'asi (she/her).
> 
> This takes place sometime between episode 3 and 4, before the crew learns about Vexx.

Club Siren was dark, smoky, and utterly unlike anything Eve had ever encountered. She sat in silence, nursing a drink, and as she gazed around the completely packed, hypnotically swirling room, she gained an entirely new understanding of just how isolated she had been from the rest of the galaxy. The graceful twirling, coy smiles, and respectable distances she had grown accustomed to at the palace were nowhere to be found. Here, there was only boiling blood, dancing bodies, and a deep thrumming of music that resonated in her bones. It was deafening, frenzied…and completely exhilarating. She swayed along absentmindedly, trying to keep the rising thrill in her chest under control.

“Enjoying the view?”

She blinked and looked over at the assassin sitting across from her; Damon was watching her with growing amusement, leisurely drinking the krill juice that matched her own. It wasn’t so bad, once she had gotten used to it. She couldn’t really say why she had been so keen on acquiring a taste for his drink of choice, but seeing as she somehow kept finding herself wherever he was, perhaps it was a strange common ground she had found between them. Eve smiled shyly despite herself, taking another sip. 

“It’s…kind of exciting, isn’t it? I’ve just never been someplace so… _wild._ ”

Damon looked over at the sea of dancers, mere paces away from their relatively quiet seat at the bar, and shrugged noncommittally. “Eh. It’s not bad, I guess.” He looked back at Eve, a smirk playing about his lips. “Figures you’d get all starry-eyed over anywhere louder than your ivory tower.”

“Hey, I’ll have you know I had some good times growing up too.”

Damon raised his dark eyebrows at that, leaning forward in mock interest. His lips parted ever so slightly, utterly decimating Eve’s train of thought. “Oh? Do tell. What sordid affairs did the little princess get up to in her safe and cozy bubble of isolation, hmm?” 

Eve swallowed and looked down for a moment, tearing her eyes away from the icy blue gaze that seemed to cut through her every defense. It infuriated her sometimes, how easily he got under her skin with barely a word. She idly wondered why he even bothered spending time with her if she was so irritating to be around. Still, lately his teasing felt…different somehow, like he genuinely wanted to know more about her while still playing it off as a joke. Or perhaps that was just another one of his tricks. Maybe…

_Oh, fuck him._

The liquor fluttered pleasantly in her chest, and suddenly things didn’t seem so dire anymore. She met his gaze again, her golden eyes shining playfully. When she spoke, her voice dripped with a sugary innocence.

“Well, I made friends with the servants and they’d fill me in on all the gossip going on around the palace. Sometimes I’d sneak out and spend the day wandering around the city. There were also dance parties alone in my room, dressing up and sneaking into masquerade balls, getting fucked up against the wall after outrunning the guards, and _ooh_ on Thursdays my tutor and I would play poker with real money…!” 

It took Damon a second to register what she’d just said, but once he did, he blinked dumbly, obviously caught off-guard. Eve tapped her finger idly on her glass, giving him an uncharacteristically devilish grin. _Got him._

“Really, did you think I spent all that time in my tower _alone?_ ” Damon instinctively pulled back a little, recovering from the surprise admirably quickly. But the damage was done. Eve sighed dramatically, continuing with growing relish. “It just gets so boring, cooped up in my wing day in and day out. At some point you find ways to sneak in a playmate. Or two. Or three.” She shrugged. “Honestly, who’s counting?”

Damon tilted his head, his expression somewhere between annoyance and intrigue.

“You’re fucking with me.”

“Am I? Never underestimate a princess with a raging libido and way too much time on her hands.” He looked her up and down for a moment longer, decided she wasn’t kidding, and chuckled darkly.

“And here I thought you were just a blushing virgin. Well, there goes my fantasy.” Eve just looked at him, refusing to break her victorious expression despite her heart leaping firmly into her throat at that comment. “Who knew you had all these adoring lovers at your feet.”

“Eh, most of them were just one-offs. Didn’t hold my interest for long enough. You know what that’s like, right?”

“I’m familiar with the feeling.” His lips quirked in interest. “ _Most_ of them?”

“Well, it was just a different sort of game with him.” She paused, catching herself. “Uh, them.” She took a nervous sip from her glass, trying to drown the unpleasant wave that had suddenly settled in her stomach. Damon raised an eyebrow at that, but mercifully didn’t press the matter.

“Careful now,” he purred, “alcohol has the unfortunate side effect of making you say what’s really on your mind.”

“I’m just following your example,” Eve said, shooting him an annoyed look. Damon leaned back in his seat, the familiar smirk returning to his face with ease.

“Sweetheart, you couldn’t keep up with me if you tried.” With that, he picked up his glass, looking her dead in the eye as he slowly, tauntingly gulped down the rest of his drink in a practiced motion. Once he was done, he set the glass down with a firm _thunk_ , running his tongue over his upper lip to lick off the excess wetness. Eve’s gaze darted between her glass and Damon’s smug expression for a moment, obviously hesitating. But she picked up her own drink all the same, defiantly choking it down with considerably less grace than he had. She also put the glass down with much more force, suddenly standing up and shaking her arms out.

“Well! What better way to burn off the booze than some dancing?” She blinked at him brightly, “You coming?” Damon stared at her, then at the dance floor, then at her again, utterly unimpressed.

“I don’t dance.”

Eve pushed her crimson lips together in a delicate pout. “Not even for me?”

“Especially not for you.”

“Hmph, fine. Stay over here by yourself like a loser then. A sexy, brooding loser.” Eve suddenly clamped her mouth shut. She did it again. Damon raised his eyebrows in amusement.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch that last part, what did you--?”

Eve had already turned on her heel, walking briskly towards the dance floor and hoping he hadn’t seen the furious blush on her face. Without so much as a backwards glance, she swiftly dove into the crowd and fell into the rhythm of the other dancers, willfully losing herself in their movement. Damon chuckled to himself and turned to motion for the bartender to get him two more drinks, just in case Eve felt like saying more stupid shit. Securing said drinks, he turned back and just watched her, perhaps more intently than he meant to.

Once he did, however, he couldn’t bring himself to look away from the small, dainty woman that flowed through the crowd with ease. Eve didn’t move like a trained dancer, but every sway of her arms, every twirl of her hips was unrestrained, imprecise, and so utterly… _joyous_. She was truly dancing as though no one was watching, because likely no one was in her experience. Damon felt a pang of sadness in his heart as the thought occurred to him, though he couldn’t say why. He shook his head and drowned it in another sip.

Eve, meanwhile, was having the time of her life, despite her earlier embarrassment. The heavy bass reverberated in her skull, shaking and numbing her to her core. She had never felt such a feeling before, such complete abandon. She could lose herself in the music, fade away until there was nothing but her and her own pounding heartbeat. The thought thrilled her. 

She was so distracted that she didn’t see the passing Kit until he bumped into her roughly, sending her stumbling backwards. In that brief moment of breathless panic, an arm shot out from the blur and snaked around her waist, catching her before she hit the ground. She looked up in bewilderment, her gaze colliding with a familiar face. Damon smirked, pulling her to her feet.

“You really need to learn to watch where you’re going,” he said. Eve pouted like an indignant child.

“ _He_ needs to watch where _he’s_ going.” Once the shock faded, Eve blinked, realizing just how far away from the bar she had moved. Damon had crossed the floor over to her with an impressive speed, somehow without her noticing. Had he…already been on his way to her?

The thought was interrupted by the pleasant warmth of his body leaving her, as he removed his arm from her waist and stepped back. She watched him for a moment, expecting him to turn around and go back to the bar without a word. But instead, he just stood there, half-closing his eyes and swaying along to the music nonchalantly, not dancing so much as just moving. Now it was her turn to smirk. 

“I thought you didn’t dance.” He opened his eyes to look at her fully, shrugging.

“I don’t. But since I’m here…”

Eve laughed and let the music wash over her again, this time keeping an eye open to her surroundings. She and Damon moved around each other for a time, falling into a mutual rhythm while still keeping a respectful distance. She couldn’t help watching him as they danced, somehow knowing that this was a very rare sight to behold. As he let himself go more, she truly saw the effortless power with which he moved, a catlike, almost predatory grace. She felt that same fluttering in her chest again, though she wasn’t so sure it was the alcohol this time.

She couldn’t say which of them moved in first when the music shifted to something primal, with a slow, intense beat. But the next time she opened her eyes, he was much closer to her than before, his searing gaze fully on her now. With a ghost of a smile on his lips, he wordlessly slid his hand along the curve of her hip, the other wrapping around to the small of her back to pull her closer. Any resistance she might have felt melted away in that instant, and she flowed into him, rolling her body in breathless tandem with his. His smile grew in satisfaction, and he let his hand settle on her other hip as they danced.

Every nerve in Eve’s body felt electrified at his touch, and her senses became overwhelmed. The thrumming of the music was different now, an uninhibited haze of joy and skin and desire. She had no idea how long they stayed like that, locked in that roiling embrace. All she knew was that she didn’t want it to end. She looked up to meet his eyes, desperate for something, anything to indicate that he felt the same. He was still staring at her, his burning gaze setting her face ablaze with its intensity. She may have been exaggerating a _little_ bit when it came to her sexual experience, but even she could see the growing hunger in his eyes, could feel the insistence with which he pulled her hips against his. Something changed in that moment, and a sudden voice inside her screamed for her to stop.

This was dangerous. He was dangerous.

Just like that, the spell broke, and she pulled away from him, hurrying back to their spot at the bar with an inexplicable urgency. It wasn’t until she was actually walking, her legs feeling like jelly under her, that she realized just how drunk she was. She couldn’t bear to look back to see if Damon had followed her until she reached the seats, resting against the counter for a moment. Finally, she turned her head, and there he was. He didn’t say anything, just looked at her, his stony expression unreadable. She smiled apologetically.

“Sorry. Was just feelin’ a li’l dizzy.” She took a few ragged breaths, then swept up her formerly abandoned drink and took a long gulp. Damon raised an eyebrow.

“You know, if you’re dizzy, drinking _more_ generally isn’t advised.”

She whirled around to face him fully, her drink still in hand. She tried to shrug off her sudden flustered state, leaning back to rest against the bar stool nonchalantly.

“No, no, it was just the people! Too many people. I was feeling cla—cler--claussstrophobic. Seriously, I swear, I’m totally fff--!” She missed the stool by several inches, instead sliding down the side of the counter and falling on her ass with a loud thump, her drink going flying. Damon gave a long-suffering sigh and went over to help her up.

“A’ight, let’s get you home. You’ve had enough.” He said. Eve swatted his outstretched hand away halfheartedly.

“Damn thing moved on me, I swear…nahh, don’t. Don’t. Just need to…wait for the room to stop spinning…and I’ll be fine.” Damon didn’t wait for her to stop resisting, just grabbed her hand and tried once, twice, three times to pull her to her feet. But each time her legs gave out under her, sending her flopping back down to the floor. Damon rolled his eyes. _Fuck it_ , he thought, and scooped her up so he was carrying her bridal style. She was certainly small enough that it didn’t take much effort. Eve made an undignified noise of surprise, wriggling against him ineffectually. Damon just jerked his head out of the path of an errant elbow. 

“Yeah, yeah, you can slap me later. Puke on me and I’ll stab you, though.” And just like that, he carried her out into the cool night air to begin the long walk back to the ship.  
~

Eve quieted down after a few minutes of walking, once she was satisfied that she wasn’t being kidnapped. Eventually, she nestled her head down contentedly into Damon’s shoulder, mumbling about nothing in particular in an increasingly slurred tone. He just let her talk without comment, grateful that she couldn’t see the faint tinge of pink in his cheeks in the darkness.

After what felt like forever, they reached the safety of the ship. Not a moment passed after crossing the threshold when Damon spotted Ayame, fiddling absentmindedly with a busted mech. She turned at the noise, a shit-eating grin immediately plastering her face when she took in the sight before her. Damon just shrugged, or made some approximation of it given his current state of princess-carrying.

“Shock of shocks, Her Highness can’t hold her liquor,” he said simply. Ayame _tsk_ -ed disapprovingly.

“Damon, what did you do to that poor girl? You didn’t peer pressure her, did you?” 

“Hmph. Not my fault she’s competitive. I’m just taking her back to her room.”

“Aw, such a gentleman. But hey, no funny business, ya hear? I’ve got my eye on you.” She made a firm “I’m watching you” motion with her fingers. Damon gave her a flat look.

“Trust me, this woman has exhausted me enough for one night. Later.” He turned and began walking in the direction of Eve’s room.

He flopped her down onto her bed like a sack of potatoes the moment he reached it, though taking care that she was in the recovery position.

“There ya go. I’ll grab you a bucket but you’re on your own from there.” He said. Eve made a vague noise of acknowledgement, and before Damon could stop her, she reached out and fumbled for his hand, squeezing it affectionately. He flinched at her sudden touch, but didn’t resist. 

“Stay with me ‘til I fall asleep?” She murmured quietly. Damon couldn’t help smiling in exasperation at her.

“How would you know? You’ll be asleep.” He said with a chuckle. When she didn’t let go of his hand, he relented and sat down beside her. For a moment, neither of them spoke. Then, almost shyly, Eve said,

“Why are you being nice to me?” 

Damon went quiet, unsure of how to answer that question. But only for a few seconds, before that usual easy charm was back.

“Come on, you know the Commander would have my ass if I left you drunk and alone in a strange bar.” He looked down at his hand, which Eve still hadn’t let go of. Despite himself, he couldn’t help rubbing his thumb gently across the back of hers, quietly savoring the warmth of her skin. Eve laughed faintly, then fell silent. Damon just watched her, waiting for her to speak again. A few long moments passed before he was satisfied that she was finally asleep, and he started to stand.

“ _Vexx_.”

He froze at the name, turning back to her in surprise. She was gripping his hand with a newfound insistence, though she was still fast asleep. He stared at her tensely for a moment, half-wondering if he misheard her. He instinctively yanked his hand away, letting hers flop down next to her face. Her expression turned distressed at this.

“ _Don’t…don’t go. Don’t…leave me again…_ ”

Damon hesitated, a million questions running through his head. But in that moment, seeing Eve in such quiet, private pain, he couldn’t bring himself to parse any of them out. All he could do was sit back down and get comfortable, because he knew he’d be there a while longer. A few seconds passed before he reached down, gently tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear. She visibly relaxed at his touch, a sight which warmed the assassin’s heart far more than it should have.

“I’m not going anywhere, princess.”


End file.
